It's a pretty decent build to come up with yourself, but I have a couple recommendations. Unless they balance it out, switch roll for initiative with Ambush. I'll explain in a sec.

Next drop Acrobatics down to 10, so you can bump Shadow Arts up to 30. This is where you get Venomous Aura, the most important skill a venom thief can have. All venoms you use are shared to all allies. So that thief you just summoned from Ambush? He is now laying down insane condition damage, same for the elite skill Thieve's guild.

Also, seeing as how you are set up to use steal a lot, put Mug in for your first Deadly Arts trait, does decent damage. Otherwise you look pretty sturdy.

It's a pretty decent build to come up with yourself, but I have a couple recommendations. Unless they balance it out, switch roll for initiative with Ambush. I'll explain in a sec.

Next drop Acrobatics down to 10, so you can bump Shadow Arts up to 30. This is where you get Venomous Aura, the most important skill a venom thief can have. All venoms you use are shared to all allies. So that thief you just summoned from Ambush? He is now laying down insane condition damage, same for the elite skill Thieve's guild.

Also, seeing as how you are set up to use steal a lot, put Mug in for your first Deadly Arts trait, does decent damage. Otherwise you look pretty sturdy.

Problem with dropping roll for initiative is i lose my stun breaker which open's me to being one shot by warrior and other burst classes.
I like being able to open up on some with 7 stacks of might and i need that extra 10 points trickery it gives me more mobility,dmg and initiative regen.
Most likely when i join 5's team ill go venomous aura, but for pugs i need stuff to keep me alive I know I can't count on others.

Infiltrator's Signet and Shadowstep do not regenerate your initiative or remove specifically movement-impairing conditions while simultaneously moving you a long distance away from enemies (assuming proper facing, which is easy to correct).

Yes, Shadowstep removes three (when you return back to the spot you were before, which may now be a dangerous spot to stand, and is counter-intuitive to the goal of running away), but they're a random three.
Infiltrator's Signet also moves you right beside your enemy, which may not always be ideal (again, can't use it to run away), while also removing your increased initiative generation. At least you can trait it to give you initiative and Might upon use, so it's a really good offensive option.

Not to say Shadowstep or the signet are bad choices, but there's trade-offs. One is not automatically superior to the other, and there's more to it than just cooldown.

Last edited by DrakeWurrum; 2012-08-12 at 04:17 PM.

I hope you haven't forgotten my role in this little story. I'm the leading man. You know what they say about the leading man? He never dies.

If you give in to your impulses in this world, the price is that it changes your personality in the real world. The player and character are one and the same.

Infiltrator's Signet and Shadowstep do not regenerate your initiative or remove specifically movement-impairing conditions while simultaneously moving you a long distance away from enemies (assuming proper facing, which is easy to correct).

Yes, Shadowstep removes three (when you return back to the spot you were before, which may now be a dangerous spot to stand, and is counter-intuitive to the goal of running away), but they're a random three.
Infiltrator's Signet also moves you right beside your enemy, which may not always be ideal (again, can't use it to run away), while also removing your increased initiative generation. At least you can trait it to give you initiative and Might upon use, so it's a really good offensive option.

Not to say Shadowstep or the signet are bad choices, but there's trade-offs. One is not automatically superior to the other, and there's more to it than just cooldown.

shadowstep will also remove burn poison bleed and confusion. since the current metagame is "stack condition damage" that makes it far more valuable

Infiltrator's Signet and Shadowstep do not regenerate your initiative or remove specifically movement-impairing conditions while simultaneously moving you a long distance away from enemies (assuming proper facing, which is easy to correct).

Yes, Shadowstep removes three (when you return back to the spot you were before, which may now be a dangerous spot to stand, and is counter-intuitive to the goal of running away), but they're a random three.
Infiltrator's Signet also moves you right beside your enemy, which may not always be ideal (again, can't use it to run away), while also removing your increased initiative generation. At least you can trait it to give you initiative and Might upon use, so it's a really good offensive option.

Not to say Shadowstep or the signet are bad choices, but there's trade-offs. One is not automatically superior to the other, and there's more to it than just cooldown.

Like I said if you're running with a Shortbow you don't really need those extra evades. So I'd rather take one of those two but I don't run with a stun break at all on my Thief due to the rest of my team having decent stability buffs and the fact Disabling Shot is probably one of the most ridiculous abilities at the moment - Perma Cripple and evade everything. You can also use Disabling Shot while immobilized etc so you shouldn't be getting hit by a melee or ground spells, hell even ranged should have trouble hitting you.

Note: I'm not saying you're wrong but I don't see why you need the evade from RfI when running a Shortbow.